im gonna pick up 1 or 2 volumes this weekend. i wanted to know if you guys liked it and if its good to dish out the money for the next 25+ volumes

Gatsunoken

19th September 2006, 4:13 AM

One word: Import.

Dark Horse does pretty salubrious translations and packaging, but an $11.95 for a book the size of my right foot is a bit overdoing it. Especially given that in countries around Asia, Korea, China, Taiwan per se, each volume is like...2-3 dollars each(although the fact that we live in a country built almost entirely around Materialism might have a little something to do with that), some of which(like the ones in Korea) are even higher quality than the Dark Horse releases, don't leave that malodrous stench the DH ones have the moment you unpack 'em, and stay more faithful to the original's "feel" in the regard that they keep the "author's comments" section the way they did it in the original(they wrap an extra layer on the book itself to have the "comments page" serve as a bookmark of sorts, to elaborate), etc, etc.

P.S. They only have, like..12-13 around the states right now. The last time I checked, they had they one with Griffith-reborn Femto on the cover(which would be 12) on Amazon. To put it concisely....good luck importing in languages you have nil to none knowledge of!1!1!1

P.S.S. Everything after the events of the Eclipse pretty much bores me. The first arc(as in pre-eclipse and not "the" beginning of the manga) was great, tons of emotion, combined with excellent, compendious characterization, brutal(but undisputably realistic) physical and non-corpreal depictions of emotion from every angle, some of the most detailed and all-encompassing artowork I've seen in manga. Then it got slightly stale with the later arc/sagas and subsequently the manga friggen slumped upon its own foot when they turned it into a clone of Inu-Yasha with a sadistic twist. I'd much rather stick with stuff like GantZ, Basilisk, Monster, etc., than this crap nowadays. Either contrive a manga that actually has an ending in sight or don't create one at all, Miura.

EDIT: *waits for "Hellokorn" to barge in and derail this thread, rendering it yet another of his inane ramblings/rantings about how much he digs the likes of Berserk and Evangelion and caresses them to such extent that they stand above all other manga/anime(s), in particular Naruto, as with the rest of Shounen Jump, its genre, and everything else*

That Scary Clefairy

19th September 2006, 5:03 AM

im gonna pick up 1 or 2 volumes this weekend. i wanted to know if you guys liked it and if its good to dish out the money for the next 25+ volumes

Don't listen to Gatsunoken. Berserk is an excellent manga and I recommend to you highly. Get the DarkHorse verison as it's translations are actually accurate. There are very very few change but only because Young Animal(it's JP magazine publishing comp.) address it that way(example: Knight of the Skeleton in DH but Skull Knight in scanlations). The cover may not be outstanding or anything to be awe at but it still worth getting for the story, content and so forth.

The first three volumes may seem like a hack and slash genre but by volume 4, it gets really interesting as it flashes back to the past, explaining Gut's past and the "why" until volume 13/14.

Get by all means.

P.S. They only have, like..12-13 around the states right now. The last time I checked, they had they one with Griffith-reborn Femto on the cover(which would be 12) on Amazon. To put it concisely....good luck importing in languages you have nil to none knowledge of!1!1!1

In case you don't know, DH will be releasing the manga bimonthly. It will gradually catch up. And even if he didn't want the english verison, he could download the scanlation. Mindwerks does decent enough job for him to get the grasp of the story.

P.S.S. Everything after the events of the Eclipse pretty much bores me. The first arc(as in pre-eclipse and not "the" beginning of the manga) was great, tons of emotion, combined with excellent, compendious characterization, brutal(but undisputably realistic) physical and non-corpreal depictions of emotion from every angle, some of the most detailed and all-encompassing artowork I've seen in manga. Then it got slightly stale with the later arc/sagas and subsequently the manga friggen slumped upon its own foot when they turned it into a clone of Inu-Yasha with a sadistic twist. I'd much rather stick with stuff like GantZ, Basilisk, Monster, etc., than this crap nowadays. Either contrive a manga that actually has an ending in sight or don't create one at all, Miura.
While I do like and agree with you, that the earlier part of Berserk was alot better than the later parts, by no means have the later parts fails either. You may think it's going in same route a la "Inu Yasha" route since you are reading it chapter by chapter, in general the story going in a nice fluid pace. The story progress is going somewhere unlike Inu Yasha did.

As for the other list, Gantz, and Basilisk isn't "OMG Great!!!11" either. Not bad, but it's has it's flaws. If there is one manga I love more than Berserk, it's Eden. But's that's another story.

EDIT: *waits for "Hellokorn" to barge in and derail this thread, rendering it yet another of his inane ramblings/rantings about how much he digs the likes of Berserk and Evangelion and caresses them to such extent that they stand above all other manga/anime(s), in particular Naruto, as with the rest of Shounen Jump, its genre, and everything else*

He does ramble on EVA but not so much on Berserk. At least he give good reasons to he's claim and supports it.

I smell flame war in which you are trying to cook up.

HK

19th September 2006, 9:05 PM

im gonna pick up 1 or 2 volumes this weekend. i wanted to know if you guys liked it and if its good to dish out the money for the next 25+ volumes

The first three volumes of Berserk are rather mediocre and don't amount to much more than a hack n' slash fest with some nudity thrown in, though the middle to the end of the third volume shows that there is more to it than meets the eye. Volume four begins to unravel the beginnings of Guts' story, by volume six we see the turning point of the manga start to come into focus, and by volume eight things start to kick into high gear from there on out with some high and low points for the rest of the on-going story.

Berserk is one of the better manga titles being released in English right now, and despite me being frustrated with Dark Horse's title on the cover art for their releases and their recent addition of translating sound effects with obtrusive boxes, their releases are certainly welcome with excellent paper quality, occasionally rough but accurate translations, and also refraining from editting any of the material like they did with some of their older titles (a long way back). Along with the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga, they're both two wonderful examples of what it takes to make an epic fantasy masterpiece in manga.

Then it got slightly stale with the later arc/sagas and subsequently the manga friggen slumped upon its own foot when they turned it into a clone of Inu-Yasha with a sadistic twist.

I can't exactly see the comparison with Inu Yasha other than the fact that they're two exceptionally long manga series. Berserk certainly has times when it lags with fights and has some gratuitous moments (though its not gone into rape for a while now, thankfully), but as a whole it is still well conceived and designed with purpose and direction.

I'd much rather stick with stuff like GantZ, Basilisk, Monster, etc., than this crap nowadays.

Gantz has taken a turn that has made it sub-par when even compared to itself in recent chapters. Basilisk was nothing more than eye candy for its first few volumes, and then when we at last get to some substance it doesn't give us anything that we haven't seen before (certainly not exaggerated). Monster was incredibly solid throughout, though at times it also lacked more of a sense of closure than Berserk ever has, and a lot of the more "hopeful" moments seemed more forced than what Urasawa has given us with 20th Century Boys.

Either contrive a manga that actually has an ending in sight or don't create one at all, Miura.

So an epic with an expensive world can't open up and reveal it to us? Damn, that's one of the major problems I had when watching Last Exile -- I'd rather take a story that is slow developing but still focused and quality than one which never took into account its world to begin with.

EDIT: *waits for "Hellokorn" to barge in and derail this thread, rendering it yet another of his inane ramblings/rantings about how much he digs the likes of Berserk and Evangelion and caresses them to such extent that they stand above all other manga/anime(s), in particular Naruto, as with the rest of Shounen Jump, its genre, and everything else*

Already striking out without having ever even talked to me? Flame bait ain't gonna get you far, jack.

Don't group me in with those newbies that find their first mature manga/anime and take it to be the greatest accomplishment in its medium. Berserk, Neon Genesis Evangelion/Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, and Texhnolyze are three (or four, depending on your view) of my most favorite titles from the two mediums, and I do certainly praise them, but I'm not so ignorant as to stamp my foot down and declare them to be flawless and and incontestably brilliant.

If there is one manga I love more than Berserk, it's Eden. But's that's another story.

Ah, now that's a manga that not only has potential, but has yet to disappoint me when reading it. While scanlations have stalled and I'm waiting for Dark Horse to eventually catch up, in all eleven volumes of Eden - It's an Endless World! it just seems to be as unrelenting and getting better with each installment.

He does ramble on EVA but not so much on Berserk. At least he give good reasons to he's claim and supports it.

Actually I'm going through a Texhnolyze withdrawal right now in "fan-sp33k," but since there are so few people who have seen it compared to the other two my appreciation for the series just goes by unnoticed, it seems.

I smell flame war in which you are trying to cook up.

Anime/manga fans, whether serious or casual, tend to be of a variety in which their egotism transcends many other fanatics in other mediums of entertainment -- i.e. they can be real a-holes.

bigboss1022

20th September 2006, 6:28 AM

ok give it to me straight. is it worth all the money?

That Scary Clefairy

20th September 2006, 11:49 PM

ok give it to me straight. is it worth all the money?

To be precise, yes.

HK

21st September 2006, 4:12 AM

ok give it to me straight. is it worth all the money?

What this d00d said:

To be precise, yes.

Again, don't be put off by the first few volumes: it becomes outright amazing afterwards.

BattleFranky~40

26th September 2006, 1:14 AM

Again, don't be put off by the first few volumes: it becomes outright amazing afterwards.
Correct. Then it goes on a downward slope as almost nothing happens for over a year.